Life chances and poverty, including the definition of life chances, absolute and relative poverty, explanations of poverty, and Townsend's relative deprivation.

What this dot point is asking

AQA wants you to explain life chances, define absolute and relative poverty, use Townsend's idea of relative deprivation, and explain the different ways sociologists account for why poverty exists. You should be able to contrast the two definitions of poverty and weigh individual against structural explanations.

Life chances

The concept of life chances links stratification to real outcomes. Where you sit in the class hierarchy affects how long you live, how healthy you are, how well you do at school and what job you can get. This is why sociologists treat inequality as more than just differences in income: it shapes the whole shape of a person's life.

Absolute and relative poverty

The distinction matters for measurement and policy. Using an absolute definition, poverty almost disappears in a wealthy country like Britain, because most people can survive. Using a relative definition, poverty remains, because many people still cannot afford what is considered a normal life. Sociologists in Britain generally prefer the relative definition.

Townsend and relative deprivation

Peter Townsend argued that poverty should be measured as relative deprivation: people are in poverty when they cannot afford the diet, activities and living conditions that are customary and normal in their society. He created a deprivation index listing items and activities widely regarded as normal, and counted people as poor if they lacked a number of them. His work supported a relative rather than absolute view of poverty and showed that poverty persists even in a rich society.

Explanations of poverty

• Individualistic explanations blame poverty on the individual's own choices, behaviour or laziness, suggesting the poor could escape poverty if they tried harder.
• The culture of poverty argues that the poor develop and pass on values, such as fatalism and living for the present, that trap them and their children in poverty.
• Structural explanations argue poverty is caused by the way society is organised, such as low wages, unemployment, inadequate benefits and inequality. This explanation, favoured by Marxists, locates the cause in society, not the individual.